A guide to CNET's Facebook Timeline app

As part of CNET's ongoing quest to raise the world's tech IQ, we're thrilled to offer our users the ability to easily share the articles they're reading, the reviews they're checking out, and the videos they're watching with their Facebook friends.

Here are answers to your burning Facebook Timeline app questions.

What in the heck is a Facebook Timeline app?
It's a way of automatically sharing some of the cool stuff you're reading and watching on CNET with your Facebook friends. No fuss, no muss, no extra clicks. Just click "Try This Out" and say yes to the permissions. The reviews you check out will then appear in your friends' Ticker and occasionally in their news feed, and the articles you read and videos you watch will be saved to your Facebook Timeline. Unless, of course, you don't want them to. More on that below.

Ohhhh, so this is one those things that spams all my Facebook friends with everything I read?
No!! No, not at all, how dare you!

OK, yes, kind of. But let's face it, the point of social networking is to share fascinating things with friends. If you find a new product interesting, chances are one of your friends will too.

Also, Facebook has recently taken steps to limit what appears in your friends' Ticker, so they're not going to be spammed with every single article you read and and videos you watch. Instead, people might just see anonymized "What people are reading on CNET" boxes that aren't tied to you.

What if I don't want my Aunt Griselda to know I'm getting her an iPad for her birthday?
You have total control over what you share. If you don't want someone to know you're shopping for a certain product, don't worry.

It's easy to pause sharing at any time to browse privately, you can delete individual stories after you've read them, and you can get rid of the whole thing entirely whenever you want. You can even enable notifications so you're reminded every time something is shared to your Timeline.

It's all up to you. Just go to your Facebook Timeline Options in the membership menu:

I just got one of those Facebook permission box things when I clicked to sign up. What's up with that? Are you going to post to my wall and/or hijack my account?
The only permissions we are requesting are the ones necessary to share what you're reading and watching to your Facebook Timeline. We're not going to post updates on your wall or spam you.

And we promise not to hijack your account. Not even if you deserve it.

Will I be able to delete this thing if I decide I don't like it?
Of course! Not everyone wants automatic sharing on Facebook. We get it, and we have worked hard to devise an app that allows people to share if they want to and to skip it if they don't.

Discuss: A guide to CNET's Facebook Timeline app

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